Car-door fastener.



B. FLEMING.

CAR DOOR' FASTENER.

APPLICATION HLED NOV- 6, 915.

1,175,349. Patented Man 14,1916. iLmrli lllllmlmlmafi" 4 //WEL E6 HEM/N e? I CHARLES FLEMING, OF SOUTH BARTONVILLE, ILLINOIS.

can-noon FASTENEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

Application filed November 6, 1915. Serial No. 60,039.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Cinemas FLE ING, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Bartonville, in the county of 'lazewell and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Fasteners, of which the follow-' ing is a specification.

This invention relates to door fastenings and more especially to a locking device of special utility in connection with freight car doorsof the horizontally sliding type.

T 0 this end, the invention contemplates a novel fastening device that acts as a latch to releasably hold the door closed, and which may also be positively locked so that none except authorized parties can obtain access to the contents of the car. In this con nectionythe invention also aims to provide afastener that may be readily attached to the frames of doors of various constructions now in use, as; well as' those constructed especially for this type of fastener.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastener, whereby a standard type of car seal such as required in railway ear handling, may be readily used, and also provide a fastener in the nature of a combined locking device and door opening lever, whichis 01681360131 advantage when the door sticks. That is to say the invention has in view the provision of means for forcing the door from its closed position when the same is stuck, due to being swollen from dampness or other conditions, thus facilitating the access to the contents of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a practical, substantial and reliable construction that may be produced at a relatively low cost, and which because of its simplicity involves little or no cost of maintenance.

As a still further object, the invention has in view a novel fastening device including thev special characteristics mentioned that will work automatically ,as far as releasably latching the door is concerned. That is to say, it is proposed to provide .a fastening device having means, whereby the element to be locked carried by the door will tilt or rock the same to thus automatically engage the door carried member.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readilya'ppear as the nature of the invention is better understood,

the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and I I claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in whieh v Figure l is an elevation of a sliding car door and a portion of thedoor frame showing the application of the present fastening device. Fig. 2 is a more or less fragmentary elevation showing the position ofthe parts of the fastening device before they assume the engaged position shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of the fastening device. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the latch head and guide slot'in the door frame.

' Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Although the present invention is susceptible of use in connection with sliding doors, adapted for various uses, it is preferred to utilize the same in connection with the usual type of sliding freight car door. Accordingly, as will be apparent from the drawings the present invention is shown in connection with a portion of a freight car designated generally as 0., having therein a conventional type of sliding door D, which in its closed position abuts with the vertically arranged frame bar F. This frame bar has secured to its outer face a vertical holding strip S, which isrigidly secured thereto by means of suitable; fastenings or rivets R, to thus provide a holding guide G, Fig. 3, for holding and concealingthe front edge ofthe door in its closed position, to thus prevent access to the car at this point. The present fastening device designated in its entirety-as 1 is preferably secured to the outer face of the holding strip S, and essentially'includes a swinging'latch lever 2 having a locking device at its free end, designated generally as 3.

Referringmore particularly to the novel structural features and characteristics of.the fastening device, it will be observed that the latch lever 2- is pivotally supported-on a transverse pivot bolt 4 having one end secured in the holding strip, while the opposite end-is supported in a web 5 -of:the latch housing (5, which isfsecured to. the holding strip S,

as indicated at 7. The upper portion of the latch level 2 is pro ided with a latch head. 8, and as will be observed more particularly from Figs. 1 and. 2, the pivot 4 is mounted eccentrically in the head so that the lever normally assumes a tilted or oblique position as shown in Fig. when the door is open. The said latch head 8 is provided at one side with a curved butler nose 9, and also with a. cam face 10 having therebetween an intermediate keeper notch 11. This intermediate keeper notch 11 is adapted to register with the closed end lQpf a clearance slot 13 formed in the holding strip S.

As will be apparent from Figs. land 2, the halter nose 9 of the latch head. normally prevents an. entrance to the clearance 'slot 18. Therefore, in order for the keeper notch 11 to receive a member to be locked carried by the door, the lever must be tilted so that the notch lies in substantially the same general direction as the said slot. As will be clear from the drawings, the clearance slot 13, and keeper notch 11 are located in the path of movement of alocking eye let-carried by the door D. This locking eye is preferably in the form of an angular loop, and is carried by an attaching plate 15 which may be secured to the door D by the fastenings 16. In order to provide for securely maintaining the side of the eye 14 that abuts with the butter 'nose 9 of the latch head, in working position, the end of the eye is carried to the inner face of the a door as indicated in dotted lines in F ig. 3 by the reference 15, where it may be provided with a suitable nut.

Assuming that the locking eye 14: is in the position. shown in Fig. 2, and the door D is to be closed or pushed toward the holding guide G, it will be apparent that/the said locking eye will initially strike the buffer nose 9 of the latch head, and owing to the (BUIVZItLlI'Q thereof and the is eccent 'cally pivoted, the same will. force the latch member in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2 to thus automatically "'ierniit the eye 14: to'enter the keeper notch 1. That is to say, the rigid eye l l-will slidpress on the curved bufi'er nose 9 to l tilt the whole lever on its eccentric The momentum of the door going 1 closed position will then cause the in 1 ortion of the latch lever to assume 5 vertical. position as shownin Fig. 1.. Thus,

door-will be automatically latched, and

' be held in this position without any anual a l ntion.

be notcu in connection with the lot 2 lever 2, in view of the -forciscription that the same includes a portion having at one end a latch for o 5 with a member to be door. However, this .Jiolds the door in its so that the locking end 18 thereof fact that the head closed position, and in order to provide for the positive locking thereof, the end of the lever opposite the latch head is provided with a positive locking device 3. Although any suitable means may be utilized for locking the end of the handle portion of the lever opposite the latch head, it is preferred to provide the end of the lever 2 with a keeper socket 17 for receiving the locking end 18 of alocking bolt 19 which is supported in the projecting guide eyes 20 of a bracket 21. This locking bolt 19 is pro vided with a cross pin 22 for preventing the bolt from sliding through the lower guide member 20, and is also provided with an opening 23 which may be utilized to receive a suitable car seal 24, such for instance as designated in dotted lines in Fig, 1. It will, therefore, be obvious that when the lever member 2 is in its vertical. position as shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to lock the door, the sliding bolt 19 may be lifted upwardly enters the keeper socket 17.

In. the event that the door D becomes stuck so that it is difiicult to open, the present type of fastening-device makes it speciall convenient for prying the same open. That is to say, when the locking bolt is disengaged from the lower end of the latch lever, the handle portion. thereof may be grasped, and the lever turned on its pivot 4 so that the cam face 10 which forms one side of the keeper notch 11 will exert an opening pressure on the locking eye 14:.

From the foregoing description, it is thought that the construction, operation, and many features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, and it will of course be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to withoutndeparting from the spirit of the in-- vention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fastening device for sliding doors comprising a pendent lever provided at its upper end with an enlarged latch head hav ing a pivotal point of support which normally suspends the lever at an angle to the perpendicular, said latch head having a notch and a buffer nosc disposed at one side of said pivotal point, a locking eye having a path of movement intersecting said butler nose-of the lever, and a locking device for holding the lever in a vertical position when engaged with the latch head.

2. A fastening device for doors including in combination with a door and a door frame, a holding strip having a slot, a housingr plate secured to said strip adjacent said slot, a locking; eye carried by the door, and a swinging latch lever having a latch head. provided with cam face and a buffer nose, and a keeper notch intermediate the slidably ever e'ise having a c'iepending d means for "locking the elling device for (10ers including v in eembinetien a door and. a deer frame, holdingstrip having eslot; a hens ing plate secured to said strip adjacent said 31st locking eye carried by the deer, and a swinging latch lever pivoted beiween said housing 111161 the holding strip and. vmg means for automatically enga g 1 eye and also havmg cam means forcimg' the eye an the deer 0m, of iatcheci engagement, said lever also having 2. (1 pending handle shank pertien and. for positive y iocking the free end 0; {he

, hanle of s1 .6 swinging lever.

In testimony whex'eof 1 hereunte efilx my 51 gnature 1n the presence of two Witnesses. CHARLES FLEMING. 

